CSHB 87(L&C): "An Act relating to use of income of the Alaska permanent fund; relating to the amount available for appropriation and appropriations from the earnings reserve account; relating to the permanent fund dividend; relating to national criminal history record checks for certain employees of the Department of Revenue; relating to depositing permanent fund dividends into investment accounts; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 87(L&C) 01 "An Act relating to use of income of the Alaska permanent fund; relating to the amount 02 available for appropriation and appropriations from the earnings reserve account; 03 relating to the permanent fund dividend; relating to national criminal history record 04 checks for certain employees of the Department of Revenue; relating to depositing 05 permanent fund dividends into investment accounts; and providing for an effective 06 date." 07 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 08 * Section 1. AS 12.62.400(c) is amended to read: 09 (c) To obtain a national criminal history record check for determining a 10 current or prospective employee's qualifications under AS 39.90.210, a current or 11 prospective employee's qualifications to administer the permanent fund dividend 12 program under AS 43.23, or a contractor's qualifications under AS 36.30.960, the 13 agency or the procurement officer shall submit the current or prospective employee's
01 or contractor's fingerprints to the department with the fee established by 02 AS 12.62.160. The department shall submit the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of 03 Investigation to obtain a national criminal history record check of the current or 04 prospective employee or contractor for the purpose of evaluating a person's 05 qualifications under AS 36.30.960, [AND] AS 39.90.210, or AS 43.23, as applicable. 06 In this subsection, unless the context otherwise requires, 07 (1) "agency" has the meaning given in AS 39.90.290; 08 (2) "contractor" has the meaning given in AS 36.30.960; 09 (3) "employee" has the meaning given in AS 39.90.290. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 37.13.140 is amended to read: 11 Sec. 37.13.140. Income. (a) Net income of the fund includes income of the 12 earnings reserve account established under AS 37.13.145. Net income of the fund shall 13 be computed annually as of the last day of the fiscal year in accordance with generally 14 accepted accounting principles, excluding any unrealized gains or losses. [INCOME 15 AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION EQUALS 21 PERCENT OF THE NET 16 INCOME OF THE FUND FOR THE LAST FIVE FISCAL YEARS, INCLUDING 17 THE FISCAL YEAR JUST ENDED, BUT MAY NOT EXCEED NET INCOME OF 18 THE FUND FOR THE FISCAL YEAR JUST ENDED PLUS THE BALANCE IN 19 THE EARNINGS RESERVE ACCOUNT DESCRIBED IN AS 37.13.145.] 20 (b) The corporation shall determine the amount available for appropriation 21 each year. The amount available for appropriation is five percent of the average 22 market value of the fund for the first five of the preceding six fiscal years, including 23 the fiscal year just ended, computed annually for each fiscal year in accordance with 24 generally accepted accounting principles. The amount available for appropriation 25 may not exceed the balance in the earnings reserve account described in 26 AS 37.13.145. In this subsection, "average market value of the fund" includes the 27 balance of the earnings reserve account established under AS 37.13.145, but does not 28 include that portion of the principal attributed to the settlement of State v. Amerada 29 Hess, et al., 1JU-77-847 Civ. (Superior Court, First Judicial District). 30 * Sec. 3. AS 37.13.145(b) is amended to read: 31 (b) Each [AT THE END OF EACH] fiscal year, the legislature may
01 appropriate [CORPORATION SHALL TRANSFER] from the earnings reserve 02 account to the dividend fund established under AS 43.23.045, 50 percent of the 03 income available for appropriation [DISTRIBUTION] under AS 37.13.140(b) 04 [AS 37.13.140]. 05 * Sec. 4. AS 37.13.145(c) is amended to read: 06 (c) After the appropriations [TRANSFER] under (b) and [AN 07 APPROPRIATION UNDER] (e) of this section, the legislature may appropriate 08 [CORPORATION SHALL TRANSFER] from the earnings reserve account to the 09 principal of the fund an amount sufficient to offset the effect of inflation on the 10 principal of the fund during that fiscal year. However, none of the amount 11 appropriated [TRANSFERRED] shall be applied to increase the value of that portion 12 of the principal attributed to the settlement of State v. Amerada Hess, et al., 1JU-77- 13 847 Civ. (Superior Court, First Judicial District) on July 1, 2004. The corporation shall 14 calculate the amount to appropriate [TRANSFER] to the principal under this 15 subsection by 16 (1) computing the average of the monthly United States Consumer 17 Price Index for all urban consumers for each of the two previous calendar years; 18 (2) computing the percentage change between the first and second 19 calendar year average; and 20 (3) applying that rate to the value of the principal of the fund on the 21 last day of the fiscal year just ended, including that portion of the principal attributed 22 to the settlement of State v. Amerada Hess, et al., 1JU-77-847 Civ. (Superior Court, 23 First Judicial District). 24 * Sec. 5. AS 37.13.145(d) is amended to read: 25 (d) Notwithstanding (b) of this section, income earned on money awarded in 26 or received as a result of State v. Amerada Hess, et al., 1JU-77-847 Civ. (Superior 27 Court, First Judicial District), including settlement, summary judgment, or adjustment 28 to a royalty-in-kind contract that is tied to the outcome of this case, or interest earned 29 on the money, or on the earnings of the money shall be treated in the same manner as 30 other income of the Alaska permanent fund, except that it is not available for 31 appropriation [DISTRIBUTION] to the dividend fund under (b) of this section, for
01 an appropriation [TRANSFERS] to the principal under (c) of this section, or for an 02 appropriation under (e) of this section, and shall be annually deposited into the Alaska 03 capital income fund (AS 37.05.565). 04 * Sec. 6. AS 37.13.300(c) is amended to read: 05 (c) Net income from the mental health trust fund may not be included in the 06 computation of the amount [NET INCOME OR MARKET VALUE] available for 07 [DISTRIBUTION OR] appropriation under AS 37.13.140(b) [AS 37.13.140]. 08 * Sec. 7. AS 43.23.008(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) Subject to (b) and (d) of this section, an otherwise eligible individual who 10 is absent from the state during the qualifying year remains eligible for a current year 11 permanent fund dividend if the individual was absent 12 (1) receiving secondary or postsecondary education on a full-time 13 basis; on a break or holiday from a secondary or postsecondary educational 14 institution during an academic year, not including summer break, if the 15 individual is enrolled in and attends the educational institution on a full-time 16 basis before and after the break or holiday; or in an orientation program 17 required as a condition of the secondary or postsecondary education and the 18 individual immediately begins the education on a full-time basis after the 19 completion of the orientation; 20 (2) receiving vocational, professional, or other specific education on a 21 full-time basis for which, as determined by the Alaska Commission on Postsecondary 22 Education, a comparable program is not reasonably available in the state; on a break 23 or holiday from the vocational, professional, or other specific training, not 24 including summer break, if the individual is enrolled in and attends the training 25 on a full-time basis before and after the break or holiday; or in an orientation 26 program required as a condition of the vocational, professional, or other specific 27 training and the individual immediately begins the training on a full-time basis 28 after the completion of the orientation; 29 (3) serving on active duty as a member of the uniformed services 30 [ARMED FORCES] of the United States or accompanying, as that individual's 31 spouse, minor dependent, or disabled dependent, an individual who is
01 (A) serving on active duty as a member of the uniformed 02 services [ARMED FORCES] of the United States; and 03 (B) eligible for a current year dividend; 04 (4) serving under foreign or coastal articles of employment aboard an 05 oceangoing vessel of the United States merchant marine or attending a vocational 06 program that 07 (A) trains students for a career in the United States 08 merchant marine, including a career as a marine engineer, in the deck 09 department, or as a steward; 10 (B) provides seagoing service that meets the requirements 11 of the United States Coast Guard for United States merchant marine 12 credentialing; and 13 (C) is approved by the United States Coast Guard; 14 (5) receiving continuous medical treatment recommended by a 15 licensed physician or convalescing as recommended by the physician who treated the 16 illness if the treatment or convalescence is not based on a need for climatic change; 17 (6) providing care for a parent, spouse, sibling, child, or stepchild with 18 a critical life-threatening illness whose treatment plan, as recommended by the 19 attending physician, requires travel outside the state for treatment at a medical 20 specialty complex; 21 (7) providing care for the individual's terminally ill family member; 22 (8) settling the estate of the individual's deceased parent, spouse, 23 sibling, child, or stepchild, provided the absence does not exceed 220 cumulative days; 24 (9) serving as a member of the United States Congress; 25 (10) serving on the staff of a member from this state of the United 26 States Congress; 27 (11) serving as an employee of the state in a field office or other 28 location; 29 (12) accompanying a minor who is absent under (5) of this subsection; 30 (13) accompanying another eligible resident who is absent for a reason 31 permitted under (1), (2), (5) - (12), or (16) - (18) [(16), OR (17)] of this subsection as
01 the spouse, minor dependent, or disabled dependent of the eligible resident; 02 (14) serving as a volunteer in the federal peace corps program; 03 (15) because of training or competing as a member of the United States 04 Olympic Team or a United States national team for an Olympic sport; 05 (16) participating for educational purposes in a student fellowship 06 sponsored by the United States Department of Education or by the United States 07 Department of State; 08 (17) serving as a pilot, flight engineer, or flight attendant for a 09 United States airline certified as an air carrier by the Federal Aviation 10 Administration; 11 (18) [(17)] for any reason consistent with the individual's intent to 12 remain a state resident, provided the absence or cumulative absences do not exceed 13 (A) 180 days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences 14 claimed under (3) of this subsection if the individual is not claiming an absence 15 under (1), (2), or (4) - (17) [(4) - (16)] of this subsection; 16 (B) 120 days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences 17 claimed under (1) - (3) of this subsection if the individual is not claiming an 18 absence under (4) - (17) [(4) - (16)] of this subsection but is claiming an 19 absence under (1) or (2) of this subsection; or 20 (C) 45 days in addition to any absence or cumulative absences 21 claimed under (1) - (17) [(1) - (16)] of this subsection if the individual is 22 claiming an absence under (4) - (17) [(4) - (16)] of this subsection. 23 * Sec. 8. AS 43.23.008(f) is amended to read: 24 (f) In [FOR PURPOSES OF (a)(7) OF] this section, 25 (1) "family member" means a person who is 26 (A) [(1)] legally related to the individual through marriage or 27 guardianship; or 28 (B) [(2)] the individual's sibling, parent, grandparent, son, 29 daughter, grandson, granddaughter, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or first cousin; 30 (2) "uniformed service" means the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine 31 Corps, Coast Guard, Space Force, and the Commissioned Corps of the National
01 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Public Health Services. 02 * Sec. 9. AS 43.23.025(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) By October 1 of each year, the commissioner shall determine the value of 04 each permanent fund dividend for that year by 05 (1) determining the total amount available for dividend payments, 06 which equals 07 (A) the amount appropriated [OF INCOME OF THE 08 ALASKA PERMANENT FUND TRANSFERRED] to the dividend fund 09 under AS 37.13.145(b) during the current year; 10 (B) plus the unexpended and unobligated balances of prior 11 fiscal year appropriations that lapse into the dividend fund under 12 AS 43.23.045(d); 13 (C) less the amount necessary to pay prior year dividends from 14 the dividend fund in the current year under AS 43.23.005(h), 43.23.021, and 15 43.23.055(3) and (7); 16 (D) less the amount necessary to pay dividends from the 17 dividend fund due to eligible applicants who, as determined by the department, 18 filed for a previous year's dividend by the filing deadline but who were not 19 included in a previous year's dividend computation; 20 (E) less appropriations from the dividend fund during the 21 current year, including amounts to pay costs of administering the dividend 22 program and the hold harmless provisions of AS 43.23.240; 23 (2) determining the number of individuals eligible to receive a 24 dividend payment for the current year and the number of estates and successors 25 eligible to receive a dividend payment for the current year under AS 43.23.005(h); and 26 (3) dividing the amount determined under (1) of this subsection by the 27 amount determined under (2) of this subsection. 28 * Sec. 10. AS 43.23.055 is amended to read: 29 Sec. 43.23.055. Duties of the department. The department shall 30 (1) annually pay permanent fund dividends from the dividend fund; 31 (2) subject to AS 43.23.011 and (8) of this section, adopt regulations
01 under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) that establish procedures and time 02 limits for claiming a permanent fund dividend; the department shall determine the 03 number of eligible applicants by October 1 of the year for which the dividend is 04 declared and pay the dividends by December 31 of that year; 05 (3) adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) 06 that establish procedures and time limits for an individual upon emancipation or upon 07 reaching majority to apply for permanent fund dividends not received during minority 08 because the parent, guardian, or other authorized representative did not apply on 09 behalf of the individual; 10 (4) assist residents of the state, particularly in rural areas, who, because 11 of language, disability, or inaccessibility to public transportation, need assistance to 12 establish eligibility and to apply for permanent fund dividends; 13 (5) use a list of individuals ineligible for a dividend under 14 AS 43.23.005(d) provided annually by the Department of Corrections and the 15 Department of Public Safety to determine the number and identity of those 16 individuals; 17 (6) adopt regulations that are necessary to implement AS 43.23.005(d) 18 and 43.23.048; 19 (7) adopt regulations that establish procedures for the parent, guardian, 20 or other authorized representative of a disabled individual to apply for prior year 21 permanent fund dividends not received by the disabled individual because no 22 application was submitted on behalf of the individual; 23 (8) adopt regulations that establish procedures for an individual to 24 apply to have a dividend disbursement under AS 37.25.050(a)(2) reissued if it is not 25 collected within two years after the date of its issuance; however, the department may 26 not establish a time limit within which an application to have a disbursement reissued 27 must be filed; 28 (9) provide any information, upon request, contained in permanent 29 fund dividend records to the child support services agency created in AS 25.27.010, or 30 the child support enforcement agency of another state, for child support purposes 31 authorized under law; if the information is contained in an electronic data base, the
01 department shall provide the requesting agency with either 02 (A) access to the data base; or 03 (B) a copy of the information in the data base and a statement 04 certifying its contents; 05 (10) establish a fraud investigation unit for the purpose of assisting the 06 (A) Department of Law in the prosecution of individuals who 07 apply for or obtain a permanent fund dividend in violation of a provision in 08 AS 11, by detecting and investigating those crimes; and 09 (B) commissioner to detect and investigate the claiming or 10 paying of permanent fund dividends that should not have been claimed by or 11 paid to an individual and to impose the penalties and enforcement provisions 12 under AS 43.23.270; 13 (11) adopt regulations under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act) 14 so that contributions under AS 43.23.130 are given a priority over donations under 15 AS 43.23.230 if the total amount of contributions and donations elected by an 16 applicant exceeds the amount of the permanent fund dividend that the applicant is 17 entitled to receive; 18 (12) submit fingerprints and fees to the Department of Public 19 Safety for a national criminal history record check under AS 12.62.400 for the 20 purpose of determining a person's qualifications for administering the 21 permanent fund dividend program under this chapter. 22 * Sec. 11. AS 43.23 is amended by adding a new section to read: 23 Sec. 43.23.058. Deposits from dividends. (a) An applicant for a permanent 24 fund dividend who is eligible under this chapter to receive a permanent fund dividend, 25 or the applicant's authorized representative, may direct that all or part of the amount of 26 the dividend payment be deposited in an investment account identified by the 27 applicant. 28 (b) The department shall design the permanent fund dividend application form 29 to allow an applicant, or the applicant's authorized representative, to direct the 30 department to make a deposit under this section, and to provide the information that 31 the department determines is necessary to implement this section.
01 (c) The department may not use money from the dividend fund for 02 administrative costs incurred in implementing this section. 03 * Sec. 12. AS 43.23.140(d) is amended to read: 04 (d) An assignment of or levy, execution, garnishment, attachment, or other 05 remedy for the collection of debt applied to a dividend for a year may not be accepted 06 by the department before April 1 of that same year. AS 09.38.080(c) and 09.38.085 do 07 not apply to a levy on a permanent fund dividend. Upon receipt of a writ of execution 08 under (a) of this section or another court order, the commissioner shall deliver to the 09 court that portion of the dividend executed upon along with the case name and 10 number. At the time payment is made to the court, the department shall send notice to 11 the court that issued the writ or order and to the individual at the address provided 12 in the individual's dividend application or the electronic mail address at which the 13 individual has consented to receive notices or documents in a verifiable manner, 14 as provided in regulations adopted by the department. The [AND TO THE 15 COURT THAT ISSUED THE WRIT OR ORDER A] notice must contain [THAT 16 CONTAINS] 17 (1) notification that all or part of the individual's dividend has been 18 seized under a writ of execution or court order; 19 (2) the name and address of the court that issued the writ or order; 20 (3) the case number for which the writ or order was issued; 21 (4) the amount seized under the writ or order; and 22 (5) notification that the individual has 30 days from the date the notice 23 is mailed in which to file with the court an objection to the seizure if a mistake has 24 been made. 25 * Sec. 13. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 26 read: 27 APPLICABILITY. AS 43.23.008(a), as amended by sec. 7 of this Act and 28 AS 43.23.008(f), as amended by sec. 8 of this Act, apply to the permanent fund dividend 2024 29 qualifying year for the 2025 dividend year and thereafter. 30 * Sec. 14. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 31 read:
01 TRANSITION: REGULATIONS. The commissioner of revenue may adopt 02 regulations necessary to implement the changes made by secs. 7 and 8 of this Act. The 03 regulations take effect under AS 44.62 (Administrative Procedure Act), but not before the 04 effective date of the law implemented by the regulation. 05 * Sec. 15. Sections 1 - 6, 9, 10, 12, and 14 of this Act take effect immediately under 06 AS 01.10.070(c). 07 * Sec. 16. Except as provided in sec. 15 of this Act, this Act takes effect January 1, 2024.